Fairy Tale Pick: Flunked (Fairy Tale Reform School)

Flunked
(Fairy Tale Reform School)
by Jen Calonita
Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
2015
244 pages
ISBN: 9781492601562

Snarky and fun, Flunked is a real page turner. This book may be my new favorite in the fairy tale remix/retelling trend.

Gilly isn't really a bad person; she steals to help feed her family. They used to do okay when Gilly's dad made his living designing shoes. He came up with the design for the original glass slipper, but since Ella became queen, she has her own cobblers make the shoes. Gilly's family lives in a seedy side of town in an old boot (The Little Old Lady Who Lived in a Shoe). When Gilly steals a beautiful hair clip from an unsuspecting young princess, the police come to take her away to Fairy Tale Reform School.


Gilly finds that Fairy Tale Reform School isn't all that bad; in fact, she may even stick around for awhile. Where else can a girl ride on a flying pegasus or be taught history by The Big Bad Wolf? Only in Enchantasia at the Fairy Tale Reform School. Where else can a girl meet  fairies, trolls, goblins, mermaids, witches, and princesses? Only at the Fairy Tale Reform School.

The question is: who wants the royals dead? And who is sabotaging the school? And who are Gilly's friends and who are her enemies?

One plucky, perky, snarky girl with mad attitude takes on any and every spell they throw at her. Readers will like the retelling and mash-up.

Highly recommended grade 6-up. Avid middle grade readers will also be entertained, No adult d
content.

FTC Required Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. I did not receive monetary compensation for this review.

This review has been posted in compliance with the FTC requirements set forth in the Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising (available at ftc.gov/os/2009/10/091005revisedendorsementguides.pdf)

Fairy Tale Pick: Egg & Spoon

Egg & Spoon
by Gregory Maguire
Candlewick
2014
475 pages
ISBN: 9780763672201

Read a sample chapter

Click here for a Discussion Guide

Times are tough for Russian peasants. No longer serfs, but not better off, the people of the Russian countryside are starving. Crops and animals are dying and there is nothing to eat. Elena's father died years ago, one brother is fighting in the war, and another brother has been kidnapped. Elena alone must try and find food and medicine to keep her ailing mother alive. The village is empty except for the old "doctor"--who is really a veterinarian, an old grandmother, Elena and her sick mother, and a few women with babies.

Russia is unfair with its wealth. The poor get sick, starve and die. The rich eat succulent meats and creamy pastries and wear silk and satin finery and travel to visit the Tsar's palace. Someday Elena vows, she will go to the Tsar and tell him of her starving village and her sick mother. Surely, he will help. After all, he is the Tsar, right?

One day after a terrible storm, a beautiful train arrives in the village. The depot has long been closed. Even the elderly barely remember when trains used to stop there. Elena is curious. What caused  this fine train to  stop in her dusty village and who so rich could afford such luxury? The village has never seen such a train. The engineer explains that the bridge has been washed out ahead and will take time to repair. Until then, the train is stuck. Elena is captivated and soon discovers a girl her  own age on board.

Through a twist of fate, Elena leaves on the train and Ekaterina finds herself left behind in Elena's squalid village. Elena realizes that the grown ups will mistake her for the rich heiress, so she decides to go with it. She wears Ekaterina's clothing and with the help of the governess, pretends to be the rich girl.

On her own adventure the real Ekaterina ventures away and into woods where magic abounds. It is here she meets the witch of lore: Baba Yaga.

Two girls switched by fate: one poor urchin off to the palace and one rich princess off to the woods. Who would you put your money on?

Egg & Spoon is well crafted and written with a keen eye for plot development. My main concern about this book is the cover. It's not what I would call eye-catching or eye-candy for young readers. This cover will not draw them in. The mere girth of the novel is another problem--tipping the scales at 475 pages, it is not a short read for middle grades. I have a feeling this book will win awards and be recognized for its craft, but it will not be popular with middle grade readers. For that, I am sorry. It's a great read that teachers and librarians are going to have to lead readers to.

Highly recommended grade 5-up. Good readers should not have a problem with this book. It is entertaining and well-written but lengthy.

FTC Required Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. I did not receive monetary compensation for this review.

This review has been posted in compliance with the FTC requirements set forth in the Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising (available at ftc.gov/os/2009/10/091005revisedendorsementguides.pdf)

New Series Pick: Mouseheart

Mouseheart
(book one)
by Lisa Fiedler
Illustrations by Vivienne To
Margaret K. McElderry Books
2014
336 pages
ISBN: 9781442487819

Available May 20, 2014

check out the online game beginning May 1

Captivating and cunning, Mouseheart is the next great adventure.

Pet shop mouse Hopper lives in a cage in a Brooklyn shop with sister Pinkie and brother Pup. Hopper vaguely remembers his mother. He knows that before she was yanked away from them, she told him, "Find the Mews." Hopper waits every day hoping that his mother will return, but she never does. When a boy visits the shop with his snake, Hopper realizes that they must escape the shop to freedom.

The next chance they get, they escape the cage, but Pup falls on the floor and Hopper loses Pinkie. He is rescued in the subway by a rat named Zucker. Zucker takes Hopper to Atlantia far below the city. When they enter the palace, Hopper is flabbergasted to learn that his companion is the prince of Atlantia. Zucker's father, Emperor Titus allows Hopper to stay in the palace with Zucker; Titus sees some hidden talent he can exploit.

Hopper wonders who the Mus are, and when he asks his friend, Zucker replies that the Mus are the enemy who hope to defeat Atlantia. Hopper can't believe it! He saw a poster in the subway tunnel of Dodger, the leader of the Mus; he looks like a mirror image of Hopper right down to the white circle of fur around his eye. Hopper misses his family and longs to see Pinkie and Pup again. Zucker promises that his army will search for them.

There is a war going on between the rats and the mice. The cats have a strange alliance with the rats of Romanus, and Hopper soon finds out the macabre details. He realizes that the refugee camps are a holding tank for the cats' next feeding.

Readers will love Hopper's quiet bravery and inner commando. He has more heart than he realizes, and it is up to him to save his own kind and reunite his family. With a little help from his friends, Hopper takes on the enemy army.

Mouseheart is the first in the series which promises to deliver grand adventure and great storytelling. Hopper is one little mouse who roars! Readers who loved Jacques'  Redwall series and Hunter's Warrior series will love this new series.

FTC Required Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. I did not receive monetary compensation for this review.

This review has been posted in compliance with the FTC requirements set forth in the Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising (available at ftc.gov/os/2009/10/091005revisedendorsementguides.pdf)